The Orb of Opportunity
| pages=67-108| date=2371 |}} Nog helps the crew and Kai Winn retrieve an Orb. Summary Kira and Kai Winn welcome Legate Turrel back on board the station. Kira notices that his transport appears to have sustained damage. Turrel informs them that his ship was attacked by the Maquis en route, and his cargo was stolen - his cargo being the Bajoran Orb of Contemplation. Turrel believes that the Maquis have taken the Orb to a base within the Demilitarized Zone, and that they mistakenly believe it to be a biological weapon. Sisko agrees to attempt a covert rescue of the stolen Orb and entrusts the operation to O'Brien, although Winn insists that she must go along too. The Orb is locked within a Ferengi blindvault which is extremely difficult to open, so O'Brien suggests that a skilled Ferengi safe-cracker accompany them also. O'Brien asks Rom to come on the mission, but Quark interrupts and flatly refuses to let his brother go. Kai Winn notices Nog watching them and asks him to join them instead. After looking into the Orb of Prophecy and Change, he agrees. Two days later, Nog is en-route on the Bajoran militia ship Akorem Laan when a red alert occurs. The ship has entered a Maquis minefield, and the accompanying runabout Orinoco has been damaged. Nog listens to the com traffic of O'Brien and his engineering crew on the runabout and is impressed by their courage and skill under pressure as they repair the ship. Arriving at the planet with the Maquis base, they are appoached by a Maquis raider. After a brief battle, the raider flees. Landing on the planet, O'Brien reports that all of the Maquis down there are already dead, apparently killed in a firefight. O'Brien's team locates the blindvault containing the Orb and loads it onto the Orinoco, and both ships start their journey back to DS9. Nog beams over and begins the complex task of opening the vault. When he finally succeeds, everyone is surprised to see that blindvault is empty. Nog deduces that this may have all been a setup, and that a Cardassian ship they encountered earlier could be responsible for stealing the Orb. This seems to be confirmed when they realise that the Cardassian ship is pursuing them and Winn discovers that Legate Turrel himself is onboard. Turrel reveals that he was attempting to expose dissidents within his own people who were aligning themselves with the Maquis. Winn is able to manipulate him into returning the Orb to Bajor. Back on the station, Nog desperately wants to tell Jake of his adventure but is sworn to secrecy by the Kai. Buoyed by O'Brien's high praise of his skills, Nog lets his Uncle know that he's not interested in working at the bar anymore. References Characters :Karan Adabwe • Jadzia Dax • Kira Nerys • Lenaris Holem • Morn • Enrique Muñiz • Nog • Miles O'Brien • Quark • Rom • Benjamin Sisko • Jake Sisko • Turrel • Winn Adami • Bareil Antos • Julian Bashir • Odo Locations :Deep Space 9 • Demilitarized Zone • Habitat ring • Operations center • Promenade • Quark's • Station commander's office Bajor • Cardassia • Ferenginar • Tower of Commerce Starships : '' (Bajoran starship) • Maquis raider • ( ) • ( ) Races and cultures :Bajoran • Cardassian • Ferengi • Human • Lurian • Trill Nausicaan • Prophets • Sinnravian States and organizations :Bajoran Militia • Cardassian Central Command • Cardassian Guard • Cardassian Union • Maquis • Starfleet • United Federation of Planets Bajoran Militia Command • Obsidian Order • Vedek Assembly Other references :antigrav sled • Bajoran-Cardassian Treaty • Bajoran religion • beer • biogenic weapon • blindvault • Blessed Exchequer • Celestial choir • coolant manifold • Dabo • Dabo girl • darts • Divine Treasury • dom-jot • Emissary of the Prophets • Federation-Cardassian Treaty of 2370 • Ferengi language • Ferengi Rules of Acquisition • gargoyle • Great Lounge • holofiction • Kai • latinum • Legate • lobe • Marauder Mo • mine • navigational deflector • Occupation of Bajor • Orb experience • Orb of Contemplation • Orb of Memory • Orb of Prophecy and Change • Orb of Time • Orb of Wisdom • Pagu • Prylar • raktajino • Realpolitik • sinoraptor • Sinnravian drad music • Sisko's baseball • tricorder • tritone • superhero • Vault of Eternal Destitution • warp core • warp signature • warp trail Appendices Related stories *"The Orb of Opportunity" begins three days after the end of "Life Support". *The short story reveals exactly why Nog chose to join Starfleet, as seen in "Heart of Stone". External link * Connections | }} Category:DS9 short stories